Despite the changing times, community spirit is still alive and well in Clarksville

Benefit for Kennedy-Krieger children

Submitted photo

Colette, Cecile, Camille, Claire, Chloe (McGarvey) and Marisa DeLuca, students at St. Louis School, have been busy this summer using their time to bring smiles to other children. The girls recently held a bake sale in the River Hill neighborhood to benefit the children of the Kennedy-Krieger institute. They made lemonade and baked all the goodies themselves, selling for almost 6 hours to a very supportive River Hill neighborhood. With the money that they raised, the girls purchased cuddly pillow pets and delivered them to children at Kennedy-Krieger earlier this summer.

Colette, Cecile, Camille, Claire, Chloe (McGarvey) and Marisa DeLuca, students at St. Louis School, have been busy this summer using their time to bring smiles to other children. The girls recently held a bake sale in the River Hill neighborhood to benefit the children of the Kennedy-Krieger institute. They made lemonade and baked all the goodies themselves, selling for almost 6 hours to a very supportive River Hill neighborhood. With the money that they raised, the girls purchased cuddly pillow pets and delivered them to children at Kennedy-Krieger earlier this summer. (Submitted photo)

Darleen Sanford, clarksville21029@yahoo.com 301-854-3264

There are days when I wonder, "What happened to Clarksville? Where has Clarksville gone?" Even the Clarksville post office is going, going, gone. Once we were a community where you knew your neighbors. People pulled together. There was one of almost every imaginable hardware item in Kendall's Quonset hut and they knew just where to find it. How times have changed, but then, the positive stories roll in.

Colleen Craig made my day by sharing a couple of good news items about St. Louis students with photos. Brothers Evan and Eric Schneider set up a lemonade stand this summer to benefit the Howard County Food Bank. Nice cold lemonade is great on a hot summer day and it's nice to help supply the needs of others.

Service with a smile is also the motto of Collette, Cecile, Camile, Claire and Chloe McGarvey and Marisa DeLuca. They were busy bringing smiles to other children. The girls made lemonade and baked goodies themselves and held a bake sale for nearly six hours. The money the girls raised was used to purchase cuddly pillow pets for children at Kennedy-Krieger Institute.

It looks like the old community spirit of Clarksville may be alive and well.

Among Clarksville residents you'll find Brad Closs, Executive Director of Neighbor Ride and Joy Boy, Stewart Hurtt, Colleen and Gerry Konstanzer, Elaine Masker, Ron Poniaszek, Terri Porter, Kathleen Stanley and Jean Weinstein, all volunteers helping seniors through Neighbor Ride. Those age 60 and over maintain independence by using this transportation. Demand has increased 44 percent in the past year. It's a great way for you to volunteer with no set schedule and flexible hours. Parents with young children are welcome to bring them along.

Orientation sessions are scheduled at the Neighbor Ride office on Route 108, in Columbia, Tuesday, Aug. 23, 6 p.m.; Sept. 13, 7:30 a.m.; and Sept. 28, 6 p.m. Special sessions can be scheduled for groups at your worksite or in your community by request. Callt Rosemary or Patrice at 410-884-7433 or volunteer@neighborride.org to learn more.

Invasion, a British Rock band will be closing out the season for the River Hill Summer Courtyard Concert series in the shopping center Friday, Aug. 19 from 6 to 8 p.m. Did your family take advantage of this free entertainment this summer?

Happy birthday to Nila Jagdhani. She was 10 years old Aug. 11. Hope you have a great double-digit year, Nila.

The RiverHill High School PTSA will offer prep courses in math and critical reading/writing for the SAT exams in Jan. There will be two sessions this fall limited to 15 students each. Session 1 begins in mid September and runs through early December on Saturdays. Session 2 meets Tuesday and Thursday in October, November and early December. The cost for either subject is $175 or $275 for both subjects. To learn more go to http://www.riverhill.orghttp://www.riverhill.org, email Tswygert@verizon.net or call 301-395-9728.

If you are about to order or reorder magazines, please wait. For many years now, Clarksville Middle School has maintained a very successful fundraiser by selling magazine subscriptions. You can even use your discounts and the school still gets a commission. The magazine campaign starts Sept. 6. See any Clarksville Middle student or contact the school to support the effort.

Tour a Bay-Wise garden Sept. 10 from 1 to 4 p.m. at 10130 Maxine St., adjacent to Centennial Park. The event is free, sponsored by University of Maryland Extension Howard County Master Gardeners. Native plants will be available for sale.

If you need special assistance to participate in this program, call 410-313-1913 by Aug. 29.